Sponsoring Esports to Facilitate Positive and Prevent Negative Image Transfer: The Moderating Effects of Event–Sponsorship Fit

Despite the potential risks of negative associations’ affecting the sponsoring brand, prior sponsorship literature has not delved into this area. Consequently, the purpose of the current study was to investigate how negative and positive image associated with an esports event could be transferred differently to a sponsoring brand based on the level of fit between the brand and the event. The current research adopted the concept of negativity bias to explore how negative associations linked with an esports event might impact the perception of a sponsoring brand compared with positive associations associated with the same event. The authors conducted experiments involving 215 online participants, focusing on a single factor: the level of fit between the brand and the event (high vs. low). The findings revealed that negative associations were more likely to be associated with the sponsoring brand compared with positive associations. Furthermore, in conditions where there was a high fit between the event and the sponsoring brand, positive associations were more prone to transfer to the brand than negative ones. However, when the fit between the event and the sponsoring brand was low, no significant difference in image transfer was observed. This study enriches understanding of how both positive and negative associations can be transferred, contingent upon the level of event–sponsor fit, thereby underscoring the potential adverse consequences of esports sponsorships. Incongruent firms are advised to explore alternative forms of fit, such as image-based similarity, when selecting an esports event to mitigate negative image transfer while fostering positive associations.